Titbits— Croatians, consultants and over-involved residents

■  Croatians in the borough had their political clout upgraded recently when Hackney Council’s website informed them they were eligible to vote in the general election.  No new countries have been admitted to the Commonwealth, however, it was just a teeny technical error. The Town Hall insists that none actually made their way onto the electoral register, so a Croat surge can be ruled out.

■ The council’s Head of Regeneration Andrew Sissons has sailed into the sunset, leaving business owners all over Tech City broken-hearted. He has quietly been replaced by interim consultant Carl Whelam. Whelam was the  ‘interim’ Assistant Chief Executive of Communications between 2009 and 2012, so he can probably crack open the champagne safe in the knowledge he has a job for life.

■ At  the ‘Hackney: A Place for Everyone’ debate Mayor Jules Pipe  tried to lay speculation on his leadership to rest once and for all, by describing himself as just an “over-involved resident”. This will not shock many, as the Mayor has long been comfortable wearing the label of a technocrat rather than a politico. But does Pipe’s cloak of citizenry fit? His skillful oration, self-deprecating jokes and masterful ability to turn each of the borough’s problems into a Town Hall victory (not to mention his patent leather shoes) are surely the mark of a political brain.